Metal image forming materials comprising an image forming layer such as a light-sensitive resin layer and a metal layer made on a metal or non-metal support are conventionally used in photofabrication or photoetching wherein an etching mask is formed in a predetermined pattern on the metal layer by photographic techniques, and the non-image area of the metal is etched chemically or electrochemically to provide the desired metal image or bore a hole or make a groove. When a thin metal film is used as the image forming layer, the etching mask or resist on the image area of the resin layer has a tendency to be attacked by the etchant, and if the etchant is not so strong as to attack the resist, the thin metal film cannot be effectively etched in a short period. A strong etchant is a potential hazard and pollutant and requires the use of a very powerful resist. A strong etchant or weak resist fails to produce a sharp image because, as the etching proceeds, the etchant penetrates not only vertically but also transversely to cause the undesired effect of a blurred image generally referred to as "side etch". Another problem with the conventional metal image forming material is the low fidelity of a reproduced image because light from a UV lamp or the like is transmitted through the light-sensitive resin layer and is reflected from the underlying thin metal layer to cause halation.